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Apprentices and articled clerks
(1765)Apprenticeship indentures and clerks' articles were subject to a 6d or 12d per pound stamp duty (late payment of the 6d rate attracted double duty (D D) of 12d): the registers of the payments usually give the master's trade, address, and occupation, and the apprentice's name, as well as details of the date and length of the apprenticeship. 2 January to 31 December 1765.

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British merchant seamen
(1835-1836)At this period, the foreign trade of ships plying to and from the British isles involved about 150,000 men on 15,000 ships; and the coasting trade about a quarter as many more. A large proportion of the seamen on these ships were British subjects, and so liable to be pressed for service in the Royal Navy; but there was no general register by which to identify them, so in 1835 parliament passed a Merchant Seamen's Registration Bill. Under this act this large register of British seamen was compiled, based on ships' crew lists gathered in British and Irish ports, and passed up to the registry in London. Each seaman was assigned a number, and the names were arranged in the register by first two letters of the surname (our sample scan shows one of the pages for 'Sm'); in addition, an attempt was made to separate out namesakes by giving the first instance of a name (a), the second (b), and so on. But no effective method was devised to prevent the same man being registered twice as he appeared in a second crew list; moreover, the original crew lists were clearly difficult for the registry clerks to copy, and some of the surname spellings appear to be corrupted. A parliamentary committee decided that the system devised did not answer the original problem, and this register was abandoned after less than two years: but it is an apparently comprehensive source for British merchant seamen in 1835 to 1836. The register records the number assigned to each man; his name; age; birthplace; quality (master, captain, mate, 2nd mate, mariner, seaman, fisherman, cook, carpenter, boy &c.); and the name and home port of his ship, with the date of the crew list (usually at the end of a voyage). Most of the men recorded were born in the British Isles, but not all (for instance, Charleston and Stockholm appear in the sample scan). The final column 'How disposed of' is rarely used, and indicates those instances where a man died, was discharged, or deserted his ship during the voyage.

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British merchant seamen
(1835-1840)At this period, the foreign trade of ships plying to and from the British isles involved about 150,000 men on 15,000 ships; and the coasting trade about a quarter as many more. A large proportion of the seamen on these ships were British subjects, and so liable to be pressed for service in the Royal Navy; but there was no general register by which to identify them, so in 1835 parliament passed a Merchant Seamen's Registration Bill. Under this act a large register of British seamen was compiled, based on ships' crew lists gathered in British and Irish ports, and passed up to the registry in London. A parliamentary committee decided that the system devised did not answer the original problem, and the original register was abandoned after less than two years: the system was then restarted in this form, with a systematic attempt to attribute the seamen's (ticket) numbers, and to record successive voyages. The register records the number assigned to each man; his name; age; birthplace; quality (S = seaman, &c.); and the name and official number of his ship, with the date of the crew list (usually at the end of a voyage). Most of the men recorded were born in the British Isles, but not all. The system was still very cumbersome, because the names were amassed merely under the first two letters of surname; an attempt was made to separate out namesakes by giving the first instance of a name (a), the second (b), and so on. During 1840 this series of ledgers was abandoned, and a new set started with names grouped together by surname. BT 112/7

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Bankrupts' Estates
(1854)Transfers of bankrupts' estates in England and Wales to assignees

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Insolvents
(1854)Insolvency notices for England and Wales: insolvency often caused people to restart their lives elsewhere, so these are an important source for lost links

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Patentees of New Inventions
(1854)Abstracts of British patents for new inventions applied for and granted from 1 January to 31 December 1854: giving date, name and address, and short description of the invention. It is then stated whether 'Letters patent sealed' or 'Provisional protection only'.

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Sailors and marines on board Her Majesty's ship Cormorant
(1856-1860)The China Medal was awarded to soldiers and sailors involved in the various actions of the war against China, in which this ship was engaged from 1856 to 1860. The medals were either delivered on board or sent on in 1862: except that many of the men were no longer immediately traceable, and the remarks on the roll show that some medals were not sent on for several years, and some were never sent. After the main roll there is a section showing which of the men also qualified for clasps. Separate clasps were awarded for men who had been in receipt of the China Medal of 1842; for the taking of Fatshan in 1857, Canton in 1857, Taku Forts in 1858, Taku Forts in 1860, and Pekin in 1860. Most of the men on this ship are shown as having been given the Taku Forts 1858 clasp, for being actually engaged in the operations which ceased with the first capture of the Taku Forts, 20 May 1858, and led to the Treaty of Tientsin.

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Unclaimed Naval Prize Money from the China War
(1856-1860)Various prize moneys were awarded to officers and men who served on board her Majesty's ships on the China Station during the war of 1856 to 1880. Firstly, there was a parliamentary grant of one month's pay to those serving on the Acorn*, Actaeon*, Adventure, Algerine*, Amethyst, Assistance*, Banterer*, Barracouta, Belleisle, Bustard, Calcutta*, Camilla, Clown*, Comus, Cormorant, Cruiser*, Drake*, Elk*, Encounter, Esk*, Firm*, Forester*, Furious*, Fury, Haughty*, Hesper*, Highflyer*, Hornet*, Inflexible*, Janus*, Kestrel*, Lee*, Leven*, Melville, Minden, Nankin*, Niger*, Nimrod*, Opossum*, Pique, Plover*, Princess Charlotte, Racehorse*, Raleigh, Sampson*, Sans Pareil*, Slaney*, Spartan, Starling*, Staunch*, Surprise*, Sybille*, Tribune, Volcano*, Watchful*, Winchester, and Woodcock*; in addition Canton booty was awarded to those serving on the ships asterisked (plus the Bittern and Coromandel tenders) at Canton on 28 and 29 December 1857, when that city was bombarded and captured. Then those on board the Bustard, Cruiser, Esk, Forester, Haughty, Highflyer, Lee, Niger, Nimrod, Sampson, Surprise, and the boats of the Elk, were rewarded for the captures of junks for breach of blockade of Canton River between 29 August and 19 December 1857. Other captures made by her Majesty's ships led to various other awards distributed between 1 January 1855 and 19 February 1863. Nevertheless, for one reason or another a substantial number of these prizes, from as little as 1s 7d to as much as £28, remained undistributed by 1902, when this comprehensive list of the unclaimed moneys was printed. In each case the sailor's name is given first (surname, then christian name or initials); rank or rating; ship in which serving at time of capture or award; parliamentary award; Canton booty; captures for breach of blockade of Canton River; other captures; and then the total.

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Cases in Chancery
(1883-1884)Volume 76 of The Law Times, 'The Journal of The Law and The Lawyers', a weekly publication, runs from 3 November 1883 to 26 April 1884. Much of the journal is taken up with law reports, leading articles, &c., and the 'Solicitors' Department' contains several regular features of great interest. The court lists enable us to follow the progress of cases scheduled to be heard in the high courts. Many of these cases never actually came to be heard, litigation ceasing whilst in preparation, or being resolved 'at the door of the court'. In almost all cases the parties are referred to by surname only. The very extensive lists of cases pending for trial or hearing in the Chancery Division are arranged by the justice appointed, and then sub-divided into categories such as 'Causes for Trial with Witnesses', 'Further Consideration', 'Demurrer', 'Non-witness Causes, Adjourned Summonses, and Special Cases.'

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Partnerships Dissolved
(1887)Dissolution of trading partnerships, or removal of a partner from a business, in England and Wales